More Than 85% of Islamophobia Incidents in Australia Go Unreported: Council
The warning came as the ICV hosted its first conference on Islamophobia in Melbourne on Saturday, attended by politicians, police, academics and religious leaders. The event was accompanied by the release of a new report that painted a troubling picture of rising hostility towards Muslims in the country.
The council said it had received 96 case reports of Islamophobia since 2021, with 26 of those lodged between January and July this year. Most involved verbal abuse or ridicule, followed by discrimination in workplaces, according to The Guardian.
It added that many incidents never reached authorities due to a lack of trust in government and law enforcement, with victims fearing their complaints would not be taken seriously.
“Underreporting makes it easier for institutions to deny the scale of the problem,” the ICV report stated. “It also means many victims never access the support, validation or justice they deserve.”
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Beyond direct reports, the council also recorded thousands of wider incidents of anti-Muslim racism. These included online hate comments, hostile phone calls, offensive emails sent to Muslim organisations, and negative media portrayals. Between January and July alone, the ICV documented 3,254 such cases.
The rise comes against a backdrop of the Israeli war on Gaza which has sparked global protests in support of Palestinians.
In response, the government of New South Wales on Friday announced a $1 million program to tackle anti-Muslim hate. The initiative will create a support hotline, a case management system for victims, and community awareness campaigns.
The program will be delivered through the Action Against Islamophobia initiative, led by the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC).
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ANIC president Imam Shadi Alsuleiman has previously said the spike in anti-Muslim hostility has left many feeling unsafe in their everyday religious practices, including praying in mosques or wearing the hijab in public.
He noted that Islamophobia often appears in subtle ways. “Islamophobia manifests itself in the community in several different ways, and we’ve seen an increase in micro aggressions that are often brushed off as ignorance or rude behaviour,” he said.
“Understanding how Muslims experience Islamophobia will help guide our approach to combating the issue on a holistic level.”
Source: Agencies
